Environmental Carrying Capacity Base on Land Balance to Support Geotourism Programs in the Karst Area of South Malang

Urbanization and mass movement of the population from rural areas and small cities to megacities have led to environmental, economic, and social problems in Iran. In dealing with these challenges, assessing resource and environmental carrying capacity (RECC) is considered an effective method to leverage space and capital to achieve sustainable development. This study aimed to rank the provincial RECC in Iran. Toward this purpose, environmental indices were generated from remotely sensed and statistical census data. Then, the provinces were scored in terms of environmental, economic, and infrastructural carrying capacities, and RECC using the mean variance analysis method. Results demonstrated that in most areas, there is no relationship between economic and infrastructural capacities and development. Statistically, a correlation coefficient of −0.53 between economic and environmental carrying capacities indicated excessive use of environmental capacities. Moreover, the spatial distribution pattern of environmental, economic, and infrastructural carrying capacity was entirely heterogeneous between the provinces; there was a northeast–southwest pattern in terms of infrastructural capacity and an economic pattern from north to south. The distribution pattern of RECC is most consistent with the environmental capacity, pointing at the high weight of the indicators of the RECC model. In conclusion, this research offers a new vision for policymakers and provides a theoretical and applicable framework for implementing sustainable strategies in land‐use planning. It is recommended that the RECC concept and tools can be used not only for planning but also for measuring the efficiency of spatial development programs and establishing land balances in the region.

The concepts of regional resources and environmental carrying capacity are important aspects of both academic inquiry and government policy. Although notable results have been achieved in terms of evaluating both these variables, most researchers have utilized a traditional analytical method that incorporates the “pressure-state-response” model. A new approach is proposed in this study for the comprehensive evaluation of regional resources and environmental carrying capacity; applying a “pressure-support”, “destructiveness- resilience”, and “degradation-promotion” (“PS-DR-DP”) hexagon interaction theoretical model, we divided carrying capacity into these three pairs of interactive forces which correspond with resource supporting ability, environmental capacity, and risk-disaster resisting ability, respectively. Negative carrying capacity load in this context was defined to include pressure, destructiveness, and degradation, while support, resilience, and promotion comprised positive attributes. The status of regional carrying capacity was then determined via the ratio between positive and negative contribution values, expressed in terms of changes in both hexagonal shape and area that result from interactive forces. In order to test our “PS-DR-DP” theory-based model, we carried out a further empirical study on Beijing over the period between 2010 and 2015. Analytical results also revealed that the city is now close to attaining a perfect state for both resources and environmental carrying capacity; the latter state in Beijing increased from 1.0143 to 1.1411 between 2010 and 2015, an improved carrying capacity despite the fact that population increased by two million. The average contribution value also reached 0.7025 in 2015, indicating that the city approached an optimal loading threshold at this time but still had space for additional carrying capacity. The findings of our analysis provide theoretical support to enable the city of Beijing to control population levels below 23 million by 2020.

基于资源环境承载力的国家级新区空间开发管控研究

Yang, S.; Ren, L., and Gou, L., 2022. An empirical study on the environmental carrying capacity of marine resources based on the entropy-weight TOPSIS model. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 1037–1049. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The sustainable development of the marine economy has drawn increasing attention from the countries of the world. To realize the compatibility between marine resources and environmental carrying capacity and marine economic development, it is important to fully understand the environmental carrying capacity of marine resources and its evolutionary trends. After an in-depth discussion on the definition of marine resources and environmental carrying capacity, an assessment system was constructed, incorporating 28 indicators that cover the development of the marine economy, marine resources carrying capacity, and the marine environmental carrying capacity. Following this, the entropy-weight Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) model and the kernel density estimation method were used to assess the environmental carrying capacity and internal carrying capacity of Qingdao's marine resources from 2007 to 2018. The empirical results show that the environmental carrying capacity of marine resources in Qingdao presented a declining trend between 2007 and 2010, followed by a noticeable upward trend from 2011 to 2014, and then another downward trend in 2015. These findings suggest that both the carrying capacity of marine resources and environmental carrying capacity are still under threat, as indicated by a low capacity assessment score overall. Specifically, whereas the development of the marine economy progressed steadily, marine resources carrying capacity fluctuated, reaching a maximum value of 0.3251 in 2007, and the overall marine environmental carrying capacity presented a fluctuating upward trend, which was generally consistent with the changes in marine resources and environmental carrying capacity. The results show that the model can consider many factors simultaneously, evaluate the marine resources and environmental carrying capacity, and provide valuable insights into the study of marine carrying capacity and policy implications for achieving sustainable development in the marine sector.

当前环境规划中有用生态承载力测算代替环境承载力研究的现象。生态承载力分析要点是资源，环境承载力的研究要点是环境容量与人类活动的阈值。环境规划的目标是既要保持经济持续发展，又要提升环境质量，将各种排污总量控制在环境容量之内。任务就是要测算与提升环境承载力，可以根据区域监测、统计数据，建立系统动力学的多目标优化模型，进行科学分析；对可能的发展模式进行讨论，预测各种模式下经济、能源、环境的发展趋势并测算多项阈值。生态足迹法是用生产性土地的面积来评估生态承载力，难直接评价人类活动阈值。因此环境规划中不宜用生态承载力替代环境承载力进行测算。 At present, there is a phenomenon that the analysis of environmental carrying capacity has been replaced by the analysis of ecological carrying capacity in some environmental planning. Ecological carrying capacity focuses on resources, and the keys of environmental carrying capacity include environmental capacity and human activity thresholds. The purpose of environmental planning is to coordinate the economic development and environmental protection, improve the environmental carrying capacity, and control the total emission within the environmental capacity. An important mission of planning is predicting the economic, energy and environmental trends under several scenarios, calculating environmental carrying capacity thresholds by establishing a multi-objective System Dynamics model based on regional monitored and statistic data for a more scientific analysis. Ecological footprint method is to use the area of productive land to assess the ecological carrying capacity, but it is difficult to evaluate the human activity thresholds directly. Therefore, in the compiling of environmental planning, the environmental carrying capacity should not be replaced by ecological carrying capacity analysis.

Environmental carrying capacity is frequently used to describe environmental resilience against natural resource utilization. The Lemo Sub-watershed (DAS) in North Barito Regency, Indonesia, is highly vulnerable to pressure from businesses and activities using the natural resources in coal mining, forestry, and plantations. The objective of this study was to quantify the environmental carrying capacity of the Lemo sub-watershed based on the land and water capacity. The status of environmental carrying capacity obtained in this study would then be employed to develop regional spatial planning policies to protect and manage the environment in the watershed. The land capability was determined using a spatial method based on geographic information systems. The land carrying capacity was measured using total local commodity production data and decent living needs. Furthermore, water availability was obtained using the coefficient of land use runoff and annual rainfall data. In contrast, the water demand was calculated from the conversion results to the needs for a decent living. The spatial analysis results showed that the Lemo sub-watershed with 54,810 ha has 8 land capability classes. The suitability evaluation showed a mismatch between land use and land capability, where 6.68% of the Lemo sub-watershed area was not suitable for the spatial pattern plan of the regency (SPPR), 45.65% was not in line with the SPPR outline policy. The land carrying capacity status showed a deficit, where the land requirement was 43,484 ha compared to land availability based on the total agricultural commodity production with an area of 6,765 ha. However, the status of the Lemo sub-watershed carrying capacity becomes a surplus when the land availability refers to the North Barito Regency SPPRSP Map with a 53,005 ha for cultivation areas. Results of the study imply it is still possible to utilize natural resources in the Lemo sub-watershed further.

Our understanding of resources and environmental carrying capacity is deepened with the comprehensive effects of human needs and external stress. When human survival and development mainly depend on the supply of local resources and environmental conditions, the resources and environmental carrying capacity is largely controled by the dominant limiting factors. With sustainable development and environmental protection, the resources and environmental carrying capacity has gradually changed from supply restriction to demand support. There is an expression of capacity, threshold, intensity, and ability to characterize the resources and environmental carrying capacity. The impact of climate change and human activities on the resource and environmental system is increasing, altering resources and environmental carrying capacity. At present, the interrelationship and internal mechanism among resource and environmental carrying capacity, ecosystem vulnerability, and climate change risk are still unclear, which restricts the further development of theory and method. We preliminarily summarized and discussed the basic theory and method system of the research on carrying capacity of regional resources and environment. Furthermore, we advocated to develop the cascade relations of "carrying capacity of biological population development-carrying capacity of environmental stress in ecosystems-natural resources supply carrying capacity-natural environment carrying capacity-carrying capacity of social and economic development". Moreover, the calculation method and conceptual model of multi-dimensional resource and environmental carrying capacity were put forward under each concept framework. This study provided new ideas for the research on the method of resources and environment carrying capacity.

按照“十三五”的最新精神，中国需要完善自然资源资产负债表的价值化技术，以及优化环境容量、承载力的核算方法。本文对当前负债表编制的难点提出了解决思路。其中环境容量、承载力的分析是编制区域负债表、制定环境规划的关键。以武汉市大气系统为例，梳理与评价了环境容量、环境承载力的概念、计算方法中存在的问题，优选统计数据，合理地预测出一批大气环境容量、环境承载力指标的动态阈值。这不仅为政府调控环境-经济，也为测算环境系统价值提供了重要依据。 According to the 13th Five-Year Plan, China is urgent to improve the value analysis of balance sheet of natural resources and to optimize the calculating method of environmental capacity and environmental carrying capacity. In this paper, we proposed solving ideas for the balance sheet of natural resources, in which environmental capacity and carrying capacity were the keys to compiling regional balance sheet and drawing up an environmental plan. As a case study of Wuhan’s atmospheric environment, we evaluated and defined the atmospheric environmental capacity and its carrying capacity, discussed the current problems in their analysis, then calcu-lated the thresholds based on appropriate statistical data by using System Dynamics (SD) me-thod. This is not only a foundation of coordinated development of economy and environment for government regulation, but also an important basis of value estimation of environmental sys-tem.

The preparation of regional spatial plans must be guided by the analysis of environmental carrying capacity and carrying capacity, the method of measuring environmental carrying capacity and carrying capacity based on ecosystem services with a spatial approach has a more appropriate use value. This study aims to identify and analyze the environmental carrying capacity and carrying capacity based on ecosystem services in the RTRW Cultivation Area of ​​Bengkayang Regency in 2025-2045. The research method uses the main basic data approach, namely the characteristics of the landscape ecoregion, natural vegetation communities, and land use. Data analysis uses expert-based evaluation methods, pairwise comparisons, and weighted sums to obtain the value of the ecosystem service index. The results of the study obtained water carrying capacity in accordance with the Decree of the Minister of Environment and Forestry No. 146 of 2022, the carrying capacity of water supply ecosystem services is dominated by the medium category of 61.126%, the carrying capacity of food supply services is high category 54.20%, the carrying capacity of climate regulation ecosystem services is dominated by the high category 54.83%, the carrying capacity of disaster protection ecosystem services is dominated by the high category 77.64%, the carrying capacity of flora and fauna supporting ecosystem services is dominated by the low category 88.73%, and the carrying capacity of genetic resource providing ecosystem services is dominated by the high category 63.75%. The conclusion is that the cultivation locations in the Bengkayang Regency RTRW for 2025-2045 are generally in accordance with the carrying capacity and environmental capacity based on ecosystem services.

Geological resources and environmental carrying capacity evaluation review, theory, and practice in China

This study aims to analyze the carrying capacity of the aquatic environment and the factors that affect the development of Floating Net Cage (KJA) cultivation in Apal Village, Liang District, Banggai Islands Regency. The approach used is quantitative with a field survey method, including the measurement of physical, chemical, and biological parameters of the waters as well as social, economic, legal, and institutional analysis of coastal communities. Physico-chemical data were analyzed descriptive-comparatively based on the Decree of the Director General of PRL No. 55 of 2023, while socio-economic factors were analyzed using multiple linear regression with the help of SPSS 26 software. The results of the study show that the condition of land suitability varies between stations; temperature and general current are still appropriate, but salinity and nitrates exceed thresholds; Ammonia is in the highly appropriate category (S1), while phosphate is high at some points (N). Plankton diversity is moderate (H' 2,232–2,980), indicating fairly good ecosystem stability. Socially, economically, and institutionally, social and economic factors have a positive effect on the carrying capacity of the environment although it is not significant, while institutions have a negative effect due to weak coordination and supervision. In conclusion, the waters of Apal Village still have the potential for sustainable KJA development, but mitigation of high salinity, nutrient load control, and institutional strengthening are needed so that the carrying capacity of the environment is maintained. Keywords: Economic; Environmental Carrying Capacity; Floating Net Cages; Social; Water Quality

This study identifies the carrying state and value of Tibet’s resource and environmental carrying capacity. A new theoretical framework is proposed for exploring the resource and environmental carrying capacity based on two perspectives of “growth limit” and “stability of Human-Earth relationship system”. On this basis, an ideal growth model that accords with the “short board” effect is established to predict the population limitation. Analytical results show that the holistic state of resource and environmental carrying capacity in Tibet is in jeopardy. From 2010 to 2016, Tibet’s carrying state continued to decline, moreover, the negative forces still overwhelm the positive forces. Although the resource reserves still have room for more population, the environmental capacity and ecological capacity have been overloaded. Meanwhile, the Human-Earth relationship system is in an unstable stage. Three scenarios that respond to different socioeconomic developments are implemented to predict the population limitation of resource and environmental carrying capacity in Tibet; thus, authors argue that Tibet should keep its population size within 4 million around 2025. This research will provide reference for sustainable development and resources and environmental conservation in Tibet.

Economic and resource and environmental carrying capacity trade-off analysis in the Haihe River basin in China

Mapping the nautical carrying capacity of anchoring areas of the Balearic Islands’ coast

Abstract: As a concept to describe development restrictions, resources and environment carrying capacity (RECC) research has developed over more than 100 years since it was first proposed at the beginning of the 20th century. It is now regarded as a significant factor in evaluating the level of cooperation between regional population, resources, and environment; and it is currently used as an effective and operational tool to guide regional sustainable development. This article first reviews the origin of RECC and its early headway. It then reviews the historical development of RECC from single factors, such as land resources carrying capacity, water resources carrying capacity and environmental carrying capacity (environmental capacity), to more comprehensive research, such as comprehensive evaluation, emergy analysis, and ecological footprint analysis. In general, it appears that comprehensive research will become increasingly important in RECC research. However, there are several deficiencies in the cu...